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Quentin discovers that the plague hit Collinsport in the past when the family refused to go through with the lottery. Synopsis Teaser : The great estate of Collinwood in Parallel Time, 1840. The tension grows and grows. For the family has ignored the legend that in each generation one member, chosen by lottery, must spend a night in a mysterious locked room. And if the person emerges sane, the curse is over. But if the body is found, or if living, insane, the curse will go on. And this night, Quentin Collins, determined to find out why the curse exists, how it started, conducts a seance to try and summon up Brutus Collins, who in 1860 sic seemingly was the curse's first victim. Quentin, Melanie and Flora hold a séance to contact the spirit of Brutus in hopes of learning more about the curse. A spirit speaks through Melanie and warns them they must conduct the lottery immediately, or else the plague will come to Collinsport and everyone will die. Act I The spirit continues to warn them about the plague coming soon unless someone goes into the locked room, and mentions, “he was so cruel.” Melanie eventually passes out and the séance ends. Quentin comes up with some theories as to how the curse started, but he only causes more confusion amongst Flora and Melanie. Suddenly there is a knock on the front door: it’s the police, who want to question the family about Stella’s murder. Act II Flora invites the police into the house. Upstairs, Morgan and Catherine are enjoying a night of peace. After romancing each other, Catherine tells Morgan that she wants to start a family. Morgan’s tone drastically changes, saying they cannot have children because the lottery and the curse. As Catherine tries to brush off his concerns and insist they live a normal life, Morgan gets frustrated and leaves the room. In the drawing room, the police have just left and Melanie grows more hysterical, convinced that the police know she killed Stella. Quentin consoles her, and she heads to her room for the night. In Morgan and Catherine’s bedroom, Catherine finds an old love letter from Bramwell in her luggage. Written just before he left Collinsport several years ago, he talks about how much her love inspires him to give her the life she wants. Catherine appears to be deeply moved by the letter. Act III Melanie enters the bedroom and wishes Catherine a good night. She apologizes for their prior incident, and wonders why Catherine has been crying. Catherine is evasive, but the two bond over their struggles that come from living at Collinwood. Downstairs, Morgan looks on as Quentin reads an old family ledger. Quentin eventually finds a passage that says the plague struck Collinwood in the year 1680, where four people at the Great House died, along with countless villagers. Morgan decides to bring up another topic, which is kicking Bramwell and Josette out of the Old House. Quentin refuses to entertain the thought, as Justin gave them permission to live there. Meanwhile, Melanie thanks Catherine for spending time with her. After she leaves, Morgan returns, still upset over their recent conversation. He finds the letter from Bramwell, and goes into a rage. Act IV Morgan is greatly offended and finds more letters in her suitcase. He tosses them into the fire as Catherine stands up for herself. After a few moments, he shows forgiveness and hugs her. Later that night, Melanie has a dream where Quentin and Flora are in the West Wing, and Quentin is holding a dead Melanie in her arms. Flora insists she must be burned because she had the plague. When she wakes up, Melanie begins to show early signs of the plague. Memorable quotes : Catherine: Will you allow me to have no past? Even one that has ended? Dramatis personae * Joan Bennett as Flora Collins * David Selby as Quentin Collins * Nancy Barrett as Melanie Collins * Lara Parker as Catherine Harridge Collins * Keith Prentice as Morgan Collins Background information and notes Production * This the final time a year of 1840 is given in the opening narration. A year of '1841' first appears on-screen in 1215, and appears in the narration for the first time in 1234. * Closing credits scene: Collinwood hallway. Story * In the year 1748, Mortimer Collins spent five guineas to have a tooth extracted by a dentist, and then spent a whole paragraph in a journal complaining about it. * The plague was once at Collinwood in the year 1680, which caused four members of the family to die. It spread to the village, and carts of the dead went daily to the burning grounds. The first symptom was a high fever, and then black marks appeared. It stopped as mysteriously; villagers insisted it ended so quickly because of some stronger supernatural force. * Catherine has a maid. * A past generation of the Collins family refused to go along with the legend of the locked room. * DREAM SEQUENCE: Melanie dreams of her own death, in which she died from the plague. ** This is the final instance of a dream sequence in the series. * GHOSTWATCH: Quentin, Flora and Melanie attempt to contact Brutus Collins, which causes a spirit to speak though Melanie (reprised from previous episode). Bloopers and continuity errors * The opening narration gives a year 1860 (twenty years into the future) when referring to when the year the family curse started. The correct year is 1680 (one hundred and sixty years ago). This only serves to remind us that Collinwood was not built until the 1790s in the main time band, yet the locked room has supposedly existed since the late 1600s in PT. Category:Dark Shadows episodes